When asking around campus what campus facilities are in most need of renovation, nearly everybody was quick to mention the HPER weight room, a facility that is surprising in two ways.
Firstly, a surprisingly large amount of people are working out in that space, especially given that it is mainly designed for the small non-athlete student population of Morningside.
Secondly, when looking at the machines, squat racks and free weights in the room, the run down and in some cases non-functional state of the equipment is noticeable.
Madison Reed, says: “Not only is the HPER weight room, in its current condition a hazard to the well being of the students working out there, but also does not provide a welcoming and motivating atmosphere due to dim lighting and dirty floors and fixtures.”
Madison, who worked out at the HPER weight room for over a year, observed the decay of equipment first hand. “There are eight non functional barbells in the weight room, which makes working out with them impossible. There are also many broken and missing cushions on the weight machines, which makes working out on them uncomfortable and even dangerous.” Madison also adds that “a renovation of the HPER weight room is overdue and would improve the quality of life for all students on campus.”
Her experiences working out there and the fact that more and more students made their discontent with the situation known, prompted Madison to use her position as the Morningside student government vice president to start lobbying for a renovation of the HPER weight room but unfortunately her term was over before real results were reached.
While the students that work out in the HPER regularly are certain that a renovation of the weight room is more than necessary, the fact that this weight room mainly serves the non-athlete population on campus and that this population is fairly small might make school administrators hesitant to put large amounts of money into the project.
Since there is a weight room and strength staff for the students on campus that are in athletic teams, their urgency to push for a new rec center weight room is not exactly overwhelming. “Well, it’d be great to get a renovation but in all honesty, I rarely train there so it does not affect me too much.” says Joel Katzer, a Morningside Football player. He adds “but if there was a petition or something that would be put out where we could show our support for this renovation, I would definitely sign it.” This shows that even students that are not directly affected by the state of the HPER weight room are aware of the problem and are willing to support finding a solution when presented with the opportunity to do so.
Unfortunately, when reaching out to school officials about this topic, no specific comment was available at the point of publishing this article, but this article will be updated as soon as a comment on future plans with the HPER weight is available.
The need for a renovation of the HPER weight room is evident, with many students being negatively affected by the bad condition of the facility and more and more athletes also becoming aware of this problem. It is up to the Morningside community to push for a renovation of a campus facility that, in the words of Morningside student Alex Paulson “really sucks”, the way it stands right now.